What a music store! They are the only sellers of Kamaka ukuleles in Seattle. I went in for a…read moreukulele and almost came out with a Gibson guitar. Really awesome store for all guitars, ukes, and surprisingly- harps. They have music lessons as well. I can tell that this place is well established from the older days in Seattle, and having been inside, they know their business and it was very busy. Thank you for my new forever Kamaka ukulele!

Beautiful space with helpful and friendly staff. Always worth a visit. I have introduce many…read morepeople to Dusty strings as a stepping off point to exploring harp.

Only five stars available here. I'd give them 10 stars if that was possible. Lovely people! Clean…read morebright shop, extraordinarily helpful and with a level of knowledge that I've not seen anywhere! I had bought a violin with the intent of relearning the instrument after nearly 60 years of absence of playing. The "well regarded" violin shop in my little town raved about at local teacher, who was said to be an expert in helping former players. Seemed all she wanted to do was sell me an expensive "custom made" chin rest - it wasn't "custom made' and an expensive shoulder rest while suggesting that the violin I had wans't all that good and that I should buy one from her. After three visits and $300 without any lessions, and a violin that hurt to put on my shoulder - wonder if this was her way of shaking my confidence in my instrument and buying one from her? Anyway. I gave up! Enter discovering Olson's. In 20 minutes and a little fine turning I've got a new shoulder rest and chin rest for about 1/4 of what I spent at "Brand X" and a violin that I can now nearly effortlessly hold on my shoulder. I drove a 50 mile round trip for a first visit. WELL worth the time ! Like I said - 10 stars!! Laurence Lance

Went here to get a violin for my 5 year old. They were so helpful and it was very reasonable for…read morethe rental.

Well stocked, kind, and helpful. Why go anywhere else? Besides Ted Brown has been in Seattle for a…read morelong time, maybe 40 years +. I like to support the classic Seattle stores. Ok, so you could say like Nordstrom, Starbucks, and Amazon? No. Once a store has achieved world domination I give up on it. The rest of the world supports Amazon so why should I? But I do like to stick with the smaller stores like Ted Brown that have managed to hang on for decades.

Sad that I absolutely dread walking into this store these days. It used to be an extremely happy…read moreplace for me. Now I get looked at like I'm trash, not spoken to and completely ignored by employees of this company. I have walked in with $5k budget to buy tour gear with and left to make a Sweetwater music order in the parking lot. Music stores are dying and this one deserves it. If all the other string music stores act the same way I get why Sweetwater is so popular. Just a terrible music shop with really bad employees and mid level gear you're not missing anything.

I wish I could give Off the Wall 10 stars. I've been taking lessons there for 2.5 years and it's…read morethe highlight of living in Seattle. I started out just taking voice lessons but eventually my teacher Josh inspired me to try piano again after 8 years of avoiding the keys. I'm so glad he did because in the last 6 months, I've been working hard to accompany myself while I sing and it's made me a much stronger musician! Even though I've taken lessons for over 10 years, I never performed in public until Josh convinced me to sign up for an adult open mic. It was one of the coolest experiences I've had and I've since done two of their public recitals. You won't find a more supportive or welcoming music community anywhere. All of the teachers are kind and adept at meeting the students where they're at in their comfort and experience level. Chris, the owner, and my teacher, Josh, are super encouraging of everything and I've never felt more comfortable as a musician. Going to Off the Wall is my favorite time of the week. For anyone looking to get into music or looking to expand their skills, I can't recommend Off the Wall enough.

Great communicators and wonderful teachers! Their free lesson allowed us to get a feel for the…read morespace and teachers before committing. They didn't pressure signing up afterwards, either or try to reel us in with gimmicks. My daughter said that the 30 min flew by and looks forward to future lessons!

I started taking cello lessons again with Mannfried Funk, a former Seattle Symphony member. He's…read moregot a great teaching space in his home on Phinny ridge but also makes house calls. He's a super likable guy and very patient. Something I need to get up on YouTube is his comical dog - who literally sings along when he's playing (stops after a bit - it's not a distraction). If you're looking for a Cello teacher in Seattle (or the Eastside) I'd highly recommend him. You can reach him via email at MKFS381@AOL.com

"Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe."…read more --Honest Abe For all those about to bust orchestral maneuvers (in the dark or otherwise), get ready to sharpen your axe. My son's first cello lesson with Mannfried Funk (my friend exclaimed that this is the best musical name a person could have, bar none, and he's dead-on!), began with an almost entirely visual assessment of where he was at skillwise, as evidenced by his physical relationship to the cello. In about 45 seconds, Mannfried had it all dialed in. My kid has always been running to catch up. He started orchestra a year behind the flock in his first school, then 2 years behind the excellent and more intensive Eckstein orchestra (which rehearses daily). In each case, he caught up, and in each case was Most Improved. But all that hustling to "learn the music" meant he never "learned the cello." Mannfried makes this important distinction, and it's incredibly astute. He took one look at everything: posture, limbs, sweep of the bow, and--not unkindly--told him to just put the cello down for a while. It was an awesome lesson. An abnormally long lesson. They talked about physics and gravity, about proaction and reaction, about efficiency, conservation of energy, and minimization of effort. He had Maximo stand up, then return to the chair and position himself with the cello no less than five times to reinforce the muscle memory of what will be an entirely new, more efficient posture. This guy knows his shit backwards and forward. And let's not forget his SINGING DOG. He said that for a while he'd sequester the dog upstairs to keep him from singing along, but he'd still hear him up there, disconsolate and humming. But the lesson. Every student could and should have this kind of a foundation, and truthfully no group instructor will ever have the time and resources (and many would never have the intimate knowledge themselves) to impart this kind of an education--it approached the metaphysical. There are talented practitioners, and there are talented teachers, and they're not always the same people. I'm sure this guy can play like a house on fire, but christ on a cracker, has he got a genius for teaching. He doesn't talk down or patronize, nor is he gruff or the stern taskmaster. He is a persuasive, knowledgeable clinician with an intuitive, and highly prescriptive approach. Not only am I thrilled we've found him, I'm considering reinitiating lessons myself. I could not recommend him more highly to any student at any stage of their musical evolution. And for beginners, a few sessions with him ought to be mandatory.

Don't bring your repairs here. I just had my second experience having my repair forgotten about in…read morethe queue. I was quoted 2-3 weeks, when I followed up 2 months later they discovered that the unit had been sitting ready for pickup for a long time and no one reached out to me to tell me it was ready. If I had to guess, it seems like the repair folks are swamped with work and that they're constantly asked to prioritize items that are going to the sales floor over local customer repairs. Sad, this used to be my favorite shop in Seattle. Now it feels like they target the tech-salary or boomer collector over working musicians, and all the charm and relatability is gone. Won't be back.

I brought in a guitar with some very relic'd tuners. They were rusted, bushings to the post, on…read moremultiple tuners. The repair shop took the greatest care, cutting the posts, drilling them out and protecting a beautiful flame maple neck. They then buffed the headstock. My stellar Tele works as well as it looks! I am so grateful! I could not recommend this shop enough! Thank you Thomas!

Charubala introduced me to the Simply Music method which was a new and thoroughly enjoyable way of…read moremusical expression for me, an eager beginner. A talented musician herself, she has been very encouraging and abundantly patient. Her studio is a very calm and inviting place to study in. My love of music has increased immeasurably under the guidance of Charubala, I am very grateful to her.

My daughter has been taking lessons here for three years. Charubala is sweet, kind and patient with…read moreher students! The Simply Music method that she teaches keeps kids engaged by teaching a variety of fun songs, improvisation, and composition. The studio in her house is always quiet, clean and professional and the twice-yearly "piano parties"/recitals are casual and fun.

Helpful, knowledgeable, good selection. It's been in Seattle for over 40 years for a reason.read more

Rosewood has an incredible classical guitar selection. It's great that such a specialized store…read morelike this exists in the neighborhood.